The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) decided Thursday to keep Taiwan’s basic electricity rate at the current level of NT$2.6253 (US$0.093) per kilowatt-hour, marking the seventh consecutive time the MOEA has decided to keep the rate unchanged.

It is the longest period the rate has remain unchanged since 2015, when the legislature passed new regulations on how electricity prices should be calculated.

The last time the electricity rate was changed was in April 2018, when it was increased from NT$2.5488 per kWh to the current price of NT$2.6253 per kWh.

Thursday’s decision was made by the Electricity Tariff Review Committee under the MOEA, which is comprised of government officials, experts and representatives of consumer groups. The committee meets twice a year to review electricity rates and change them if necessary.

The committee members unanimously agreed to keep the current rate, because it is vital electricity prices remain stable as Taiwan’s economy recovers from a surge in domestic COVID-19 cases that began in May, Deputy MOEA Minister Tseng Wen-sheng (???) said.

Although fuel prices, the main determinant of electricity rates, have risen in the latter half of 2021, the MOEA is aware of the devastating effect the COVID-19 outbreak has had on local businesses, the ministry said.

Of the 220,000 businesses that applied for MOEA subsidies because they experienced a more than 50 percent drop in revenue, half lost in excess of 80 percent, the ministry said.

The committee also decided Thursday that 25,000 businesses that use large amounts of electricity — including those in the steel, petrochemical, concrete, textile, semiconductor, and pulp and paper industries — will have to pay summer electricity rates for two additional weeks in May next year.

Yu Cheng-wei (???), who heads the Bureau of Energy under the MOEA, said the bureau has noticed that temperatures in May have risen in recent years.

The bureau is therefore considering implementing the typical summer hike in electricity rates from May 16 to Sept. 30, instead of the current period of June to September, Yu said.

A trial run of the policy will be introduced for businesses with high energy usage next year, Yu said, though in order to balance out the rise in summer prices, these companies will enjoy a lower electricity rate in non-summer months.

The state-run utility Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) will draft details of the trial run which will first be submitted to the Electricity Tariff Review Committee for review, Yu said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel